Visit to companies commission office an eye-opener for Curtin Sarawak students

Miri – 27 October 2010 – As part of the innovative ‘triple-I’ curriculum practiced at all Curtin campuses, which incorporates industry links and intercultural and indigenous awareness and interdisciplinary study, students of the School of Business at Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) paid an educational visit to Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) Miri Branch recently.

This visit involved 27 students taking Business Law units, in particular Business Organisations Law 222 and Business Law 100, this semester.

On hand to receive them was the branch manager of CCM Miri, Abdul Rahman Rosli, who briefed them on the various aspects of CCM Miri’s operations, as well as took them on a tour of its premises.

Business Law lecturer Alice Urud said the students, in their course of study, have been exposed to mainly Australian laws such as the Corporations Act 2001 (Australian Act), and the visit was an eye-opening experience for them as it allowed them to compare the provisions of the Malaysian Companies Act 1965 to its Australian equivalent.

According to her, the notable differences in the provisions of the two acts were brought to the attention of the students during the visit, particularly the different approach in terms of lodgement of memorandum and articles of association for the incorporation of companies in Malaysia.

In Australia, the mandatory requirement has been removed and is left optional. Instead of a memorandum and article of association, Australian companies have a choice of drawing up their own constitutions or adopting the replaceable rules found in the Australian Act.

The students also learned the difference between public and private companies in Malaysia and why public companies are allowed to solicit funding while private companies are not. They were curious to know why fees charged for the issue of authorised share capital were not standardised and discovered that the fees are charged according to the band of a company’s authorised share capital; the higher it is the higher the fee.

The students were shown documents such as the Form 9 (incorporation of company certificate) which has been dubbed the ‘birth certificate’ of a company, Form 48 (particulars of directors) and Annual Return Forms, as well as examples of memorandum and articles of association and directors’ circular resolutions. Seeing these documents certainly helped the students understand the principles and procedures they had learned in their classes better.

In addition, they were briefed on the role of CCM as a custodian and bulwark of the provisions of the Companies Act 1965. They learned that any non-compliance with the applicable rules and regulations would be prosecuted by CCM. This helped the students understand the role of the organisation within the fabric of the country’s legal system.

As for company names, the students were introduced to the CCM’s online name search system. They were told that a company name needs to be reserved prior to the incorporation of the company. Normally, names which are already in use will not be allowed.

School of Business Postgraduate Coordinator Cecilia Anthony Das, who accompanied the students and lecturers on the visit, said the visit proved to be an eye-opener for the students and was of added value to their knowledge.

Foreign students who participated in the visit commented that it gave them an opportunity to get an insight into the Malaysian business sector. Consequently, they are more confident to explore business possibilities in Malaysia as they now understand the processes better.

CCM Branch Manager Abdul Rahman Rosli (seated 3rd right) with the students and lecturers.

Postgraduate Coordinator Cecilia Anthony Das (2nd left, front row) with some of the students.